Will Donald Trump pre-announce his candidacy on 'Celebrity Apprentice'?

Donald Trump, who may or may not have serious designs on the country's highest office, could be planning to use the finale of "Celebrity Apprentice" to pre-announce his decision.

Or maybe he's just trying to get a lot of eyeballs tuned in to the May 22 reality show.

Conservative site Newsmax, which has devoted considerable space and energy to Trump's political views and his unsubtle flirtation with a presidential bid, was the first to report that the Republican tycoon will use his NBC prime-time platform to announce a press conference to be held a few days hence.

At that event, Trump will reveal his candidacy. Or not.

"At that press conference in the Trump Tower in New York, Trump will be announcing whether he will run for the presidency," the site said.

That's vague enough.

Reps from NBC couldn't confirm exactly what Trump has up his sleeve but said they've heard the same scuttlebutt.

This week's "Apprentice" pulled in about 8.1 million viewers during a well-rated season that stars Gary Busey, Meat Loaf, La Toya Jackson, Marlee Matlin, John Rich and NeNe Leakes. (Singer/TV host Mark McGrath just bit the dust.)

Meanwhile, Jon Stewart called Trump on the carpet Wednesday night by trotting out other conservatives like Bill O'Reilly and Michelle Bachmann who don't back the "birther" movement. (See video at top of post.) Trump has made a number of public appearances and statements lately, saying he does not believe President Obama was born in the U.S.

During "The Daily Show" segment, Stewart also noted a recent CNN-backed poll that showed Trump tied with Mike Huckabee for top Republican choice for the presidential nomination in 2012.

If the idea of his candidacy picks up even more steam in the next month, that could be another reason to watch the "Apprentice" finale. That and seeing Lil Jon walk away with the $250,000 check.